Art of manufacturing plate-ice.



.BEST AVAILABLE cof?` Patented Aug. I2, |902. vE. BARRATH.

ART 0F MANUFACTURING PLA-TE ICE [Application led Nov. 27. 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet L "(No Model.)

BEST AVAXLABLE CGP` Patented Aug. l2; |902.

E. BARRATH. l ART 0F MANUFACTURING PLATE ICE.

(Application med Nov. 27, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

BEST AVAILABLE cot4 UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD BARRATH, oF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASsIGNoR oF Two-THIRDS To AUGUSTUS BEITNEY AND JOHN J. KELLER, F PHILA- DELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ART OF MANUFACTURING 'PLATE-.ICE

SPECIFICATION' forming' part 0f Letters Patent N0. 706,510, dated August 12, 1902. Application filed November 27, 1901. Serial No. 83,943. (No specimens.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that LEDWARD BARRATH,a citizen of the United States, residingat the city of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art of Manufacturing Plate-Ice, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to the manufac-` x ture of plate-ice in a pure crystal-like state free from air-bubbles and needles.

The principal' object of my present invention is to provide as an improvement in the art of manufacturing artificial plate-icefrom x5 constantly-flowing-water a method whereby the water to be frozen is first stilled or brought to rest and then is formed vinto a film of required thickness. Then the film so formed is caused to flow continuously by gravity over zo an artificial freezing medium, plate, or means and continuing over the strata of ice after said ice forms upon the freezing m'fedi'fum, plate, or means until the plate of ice has been built up by successive accretions.

The nature and scope of my invention will be more fullyunderstood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustrating a' plant found well adapted for the conduct of 'the 3o method of my said invention, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional View of anice plant in oneform embodying features for the conduct of the method of my invention, and Fig. 2 is a. sectional view of another or modified form ofsuch an ice plant'for carrying out therein my said invention.

Referring to the drawings, a, a', and u.2

' represent freezing plates or platforms of any suitableconstruction,butpreferablyarranged 4o as hereinafter explained and illustrated.'

These freezing plates or platforms a, a', and

a2 are preferably superposed and slightly inclined. Each of the freezing plates or platforms is provided with a vertical projecting extension a3, forming in the present instance a support and a' portion of a waterV tank or receptacle Z1, arranged a certain distance above each of the plates or platforms a, a', and a2. The tanks or receptacles b are made 5o tapering or substantially wedge-shaped in cross-section and are provided at their lower ends 'with a narrow outlet b' to allow the water in said tanks b to flow from each of them in the form of a film or sheit. Such a film or sheet of water is conveyed in a downward direction by the vertical projecting extension o.8 of each of the plates or platforms a, a', and a.2 onto the same and over'which it then passes by gravity, due to the inclined position of -the plates. The speed'of flow of the'water over 6o the freezing plates or platforms can be readily regulated by more or lessinclining the plates or platforms. Through the pipes c of the freezing plates or platforms is conducted any Vsuitable freezing medium; such as b rine or ammonia, and the water passing over lthe plates or platforms in the form of a film or sheet is rapidly frozen thereon bythe ac` tion of the freezing medium. The surplus water not congealed or frozen on said plates 7o or platforms a, a', and a2 in its travel over the same is either collected from each of the platesor platforms into a tank or receptacle d, as illustrated in Fig. 1, or isconducted from one plate or platform onto the next one below and from the last of said freezing plates or platforms into the collecting-tank d, as .illustrated in Fig. 2. In the latter instance, however, the extensions a3 of the freezing plates or platforms a, a', and a2 and the tanks b are pref- 8o erably arranged opposite each other, so that the surplus water, as shown, will be directly conducted into the tank b of the second superlposed plate or platform, and so on, for the distribution or spreading of the same into film or 'sheet form over the freezing plates or platforms.'

Abovethe uppermost freezing plate or platform a is arranged an air-cooling coil e to cool the `air above said plate or platform. The air 9o above and between theother plates or platformsa. and a2 is 'cooled -by the free under side' of the freezing-.pipes c and for this reason requires no special cooling-pipes. The air so cooled forms an additional freezing medium adjacent to said freezing plates or plat-l forms a., a'f, and a2, which assist in the chilling of the filmI or sheet of waterpassing'over said plates or platforms. The film of water chilled from both sides will rapidly congeal'and freeze 1 oo to the plates or platforms a, a', and a2. A film of waterby being continuously kept in motion over the previously-frozen strata will by successive accretions to the saine build up a plate of ice upon the freezing plate or platform of any thickness desired and in much less time than hitherto was required. A body of water of any'sizevbeing presented to a freezing I 'nedium in the form of a film or sheet will therefore be rapidly congealed or frozen. By so rapidly forming ice less space for the production of a given quantity of ice is required, and hence the number of freezing plates or platforms is greatly lessened for the production of such ice. By this reduction of freezing plates or platforms and pipes it follows that also a smaller engine and compressor for agiven quantity of ice will be required and the costvof production of the plate-ice will be reduced to a fraction as compared with the present cost of production of block-ice. The film or sheet of water being kept in motion on the freezing plates or platforms ct, a', and a2 prevents internal air-bubbles in the formation of the ice, and thus plate or block ice in a pure and crystal-like state is obtained. This feature of preventing air-bubbles from freezing l. either to the freezing-plate or to the previously-formed strata of ice by simply keeping said film of water in motion succesively overcomes the necessity of artificial agitation of the Water to be frozen, as in the ordinary processes employed. Furthermore, such agitation-for instance, by means of air injected into the Water to be congealed-causes the heating of the same by the air, which heating naturally retards the congealing or freezing of the water. The surplus water from the freezing plates or platforms a, a', and a2, which has a temperature at or near the freezing-point and -which is collected in the tank orrecepta'cle (l, as hereinbefore described, is

conducted back onto said plates or platformsA and the previously-frozen strata by means of pipesfand g, a pump h, and a supply-'pipe 'L and branch pipes k, leading from said sup- Ply-pipe t', tothe distributing-tanks b, O win g to the low temperature of said surplus water the same will be more rapidly congealed, and thus accelerate the freezing operation.

Instead of feeding the lsurplus water io each of the distributing -itanks' l' simultaneously, as illustrated in Fig. l, the surplus water can be fed by the supply-pipe t' to the uppermost distributingtank I; only, from which the surplus water passes in film-like form, as hereinbefore explained, from one freezing plate or platform to another successively and finally, if not congealed or frozen to the previously-frozen ice on said plates or platforms, be returned to the collecting-tank water, presenting the stilled water continuously in a film of substantially uniform thickness to an artificial freezing medium and causing the continuous flow of such -lms over the medium and over successive strata of ice, until a plate of ice hasbeen built up by successive accretions.

2. The improvement in the art of manu fac-l turing artificial plate-ice from constantlyflowing water, which consists in stilling thel water, presenting the -stilled water continuouslyiin a film of substantially uniform thickness and causing the continuous flow of such films over an artificial freezing medium, un'- der the influence of gravity.

In testimony whereof I have` hereunto my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD BARRATII.

Witnesses:

J. WALTER DoUGLAss, THOMAS M. SMITH.

set4 

